The Joint Office for South East Europe was set up in 1999 to support the European Commission / World Bank in their Joint role as coordinators of international assistance for the reconstruction and development of South East Europe (SEE). The work of the office is underpinned by three core interrelated functions:

• Facilitating European Commission / World Bank / Donor Cooperation;

• Aid mobilization and monitoring aid flows to South East Europe; and,

• Communicating and transferring knowledge and information to both the international community and the countries of the region.

The Office has played an instrumental role in the preparation and follow-up to several donor conferences and two regional conferences, supporting the work of the High Level Steering Group in the mobilization of international assistance. In particular, the Joint Office has developed a set databases to trace donor pledges, commitments and disbursements.

The operations of the Joint Office are carried out with funding provided by the European Union and the World Bank.

Summary of Joint Office work over 2003 to 2008

• Inaugural meeting of the International Financial Institutions Advisory Group (IFIAG, March 2007)

• IFIAG Working Group meetings on Energy (September, 2007), Transport (September 2007), Environment (October 2007), and Social Sectors (January 2008)

• Country Coordination meetings between the European Commission and the World Bank (Serbia, October 2007; Bosnia and Herzegovina March 2007 and October 2007; Macedonia October 2006)

• Three donor meetings – Serbia and Montenegro (November 2003) and Kosovo (April 2006 and October 2007)

• One consultative group meeting - Bosnia and Herzegovina (September 2004)

• Four reports on the status of donor pledges – Serbia and Montenegro (September 2003), overall assistance to the region (April 2004 and May 2005) and Kosovo (March 2006) 

• Twelve Infrastructure Steering Group meetings including six project status reports (May 2003; November 2003; May 2004, November 2004, May 2005 and May 2006)

• Three High Level meetings on Transport in South East Europe

• Report to Working Level Steering Group on overall donor aid flows to SEE past and prospects

Since the second half of 2002, the Joint Office began to place greater emphasis on effective donor coordination on key aspects of the so-called Stabilization and Association Process, which forms the framework for the development of privileged political and economic relations between the countries of SEE and the European Union.  

To help carry out its work, the Joint Office manages this website to provide real time information to enable all interested parties to participate effectively in the overall regional reconstruction and economic development program.

The Office is headed by Sandra Bloemenkamp, Special Representative of the World Bank Group for South East Europe, and Ollivier Bodin, European Commission, Advisor Financial Instruments, Western Balkans.

The website editor is Alexander Rowland, a World Bank Communications Officer. 

Where to find us

The Joint Office is located in Brussels at the following address:

Office for South East Europe
European Commission / World Bank
Rue du Trone 4,
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +32 (0)2 504 0990
Fax: +32 (0)2 504 0999